Almost a Family
by iloveromance
Summary: When Daphne and Niles find themselves sharing babysitting duties for Roz, the experience leaves Daphne both overjoyed and pained as she tries to sort out her feelings for Niles and her uncertain future. Sequel to Kristen3's "The Power of Love"


_**A/N: This is for Kristen for being such a wonderful friend and for writing the completely adorable "Power of Love" on which this is a sequel. *Hugs***_

In the dimly lit living room, Daphne sat on Roz's couch, snuggled closer to Niles than she'd ever been before. It was so strange, being this close to him and yet she knew this was where she belonged; right here in his arms.

On impulse she kissed his cheek and was rewarded with a warm embrace as he drew her closer. "This is nice." She sighed.

"It certainly is." He agreed. "Daphne, there's something I wanted to ask you."  
But at that moment, Alice began to cry. Reluctantly, Daphne pulled out of Niles' arms.

"I'd better go check on her."  
"I'll go with you." Niles said quickly.

They hurried into the nursery where Alice, who was once peacefully sleeping, was now crying uncontrollably.

"Oh, Alice! What's wrong?"

Daphne went to her and immediately lifted her out of the crib, cradling her against her chest. She suspected that Alice would go right to sleep as she had before but to her dismay Alice continued to cry.

"You're hungry, aren't you?"

"I'll get her bottle." Niles offered. He headed out of the living room and into the kitchen, but paused when he reached the doorway. "Um... where is it?"

Daphne smiled and handed Alice to Niles. "Here... You take her."

Niles' eyes widened and he stared at her with a panicked look on his face.

"Don't worry, Niles. She'll be just fine. Just hold her for a minute until I can get her bottle."

She smiled at the careful way Niles sat on the sofa holding Alice and then quickly retreated to the kitchen. Fortunately she had no trouble finding Alice's bottle.

Roz may have been a mess-especially when it came to her love life, but when it came to her daughter, Roz was the best mom that Daphne had ever seen. And suddenly Daphne was a little jealous.

Sure, Roz hadn't planned on becoming a mom, at least not so soon; and certainly not a single one. But it had definitely changed her for the better.

As Daphne held Alice's bottle in her hand, she found herself deep in thought. She wanted so much to be a mother but it seemed as though it would never happen. She'd had one disastrous date after another, and tonight was the worst by far.

She was quite upset when her date left so suddenly, claiming that he had a business meeting. Feeling alone, she wanted nothing more than to spend the evening with her best friend, who would surely understand her heartache.

But when she arrived at Roz's door step, she was completely taken aback when she found not her closest girlfriend, but the younger Dr. Crane.

Together they took care of Alice, but in the course of just a few hours, her life and their relationship had changed dramatically. Niles had told her that he loved her and that was not something to be taken lightly.

And now Daphne knew that she loved him too.

Once more her thoughts drifted back to motherhood. What would her child look like? Would he have Niles' blonde hair and blue eyes or Daphne's chestnut brown hair and brown eyes? What about their daughter?

She smiled, remembering how Niles looked holding Alice in his arms. And then she wondered what they would name their child. She'd always loved the name Kristen for a girl or David for a boy. She could just picture Niles' expression when she told him that he would soon be a father. He'd take her into his arms and then-

"Daphne?"

She looked up, startled to see Niles standing in the doorway holding a sleeping Alice in his arms. "Is something wrong?"

She swallowed hard, her face flushed with color. For one ridiculous moment she feared that Niles had somehow figured out what she'd been thinking. And even if he did know, it was ludicrous to think of such things anyway. It had barely been an hour since he'd told her that he loved her and now she was imagining having his children?

She really did live in a dream world.

"Daphne?" he said a second time.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Niles. I was just thinking about... never mind. We'd better give Alice her bottle."

Niles looked at Alice who was still sleeping. "Well... perhaps she wasn't so hungry after all."

"Sometimes children will still take a bottle even if they're sleeping." Daphne said. "Let's see if that's true."

They returned to the couch and Niles, who was still holding Alice, sat down carefully trying not to disturb her. He started to hand Alice to Daphne but she coaxed the baby toward him. Niles stared at Daphne in confusion when she handed him the bottle.

"Why don't you feed her?"

Once more a look of panic came over him and she smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, Niles. You'll be fine. I'll be right here beside you."

"All right... "He said after a moment's pause. "I suppose I could try."

Daphne handed Niles the bottle and showed him how to hold Alice so that she could comfortably drink. As soon as he put the bottle near her mouth, she took it eagerly.

Watching Niles take care of Alice, Daphne began to have a vision...

They were sitting in Niles' living room on his fainting couch, smiling at their firstborn child. She couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl but she knew that they loved him or her unconditionally.

And suddenly her eyes filled with tears.

She felt him take her hand. "Daphne?"

"I'm sorry. You're doing wonderfully."

"Here, sit down." He said gently, coaxing her onto the sofa beside him. "What's wrong?"

She sighed deeply. "Nothing. I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

She smiled and looked into his eyes, suddenly realizing that it didn't matter that her date didn't work out. She had the perfect man sitting right beside her. As she leaned over and kissed him, with Alice sleeping between them she could imagine what it would be like; she and Niles sitting like this in their home holding their child in their arms.

"I love you, Daphne." Niles said, leaning to kiss her again.

"And I-."

"Oh my God..."

They moved apart, startled by the sudden opening of the door. Daphne rose at once, brushing imaginary dust off of her outfit.

"Roz... You're home early."

"Yeah? Well, the guy was loser okay? And what are you doing here, Daphne? You're supposed to be on a date!"

Daphne swallowed hard. "W-well I was... but..."

"But what?"

"He had to go to a business meeting, all right?"

Roz's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"That's what he said."

"And you believed him?"

"Um... I think I'm going to put Alice to bed now." Niles said, rising from the sofa.

"I'll do that." Roz said, taking Alice out of Niles' arms. "You two looked pretty cozy yourselves. What's going on?"

"Roz, it's not what it looks like!" Daphne insisted.

"You were kissing _Niles_, Daphne! And he was holding my daughter! What else could it be?"

Daphne sighed and looked worriedly at Niles. "I-I should get going."

"Daphne, wait!" Niles said, not even bothering to tell Roz goodbye.

Daphne ran out the door and onto the sidewalk, trying to hold back the tears that filled her eyes. How could she have been so stupid?

"Daphne!"

As she reached her car, she turned at the sound of her name.

"I'm sorry, Niles. I should never have come over. I-I need to get home. Your bother's probably wondering where I am."

But she stopped when she felt his hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him.

"What's wrong?"

"I-I'm fine." She lied. "I'm just really tired and I should go home."

"All right. Why don't you let me drive you and we can pick up your car tomorrow?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because I... I just really need to go home."

"Daphne-."

The tears were streaming down her cheeks now and she made no effort to brush them away. Reluctantly she looked at him and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?" he asked again, more softly this time.

"Nothing."

"If this is about Roz..."

"I-it's not Roz... It's..."

"What?"

"It's...It's Alice."

He stared at her, confused, but then smiled. "You did a wonderful job taking care of her tonight. Thank you so much for your help. I couldn't have done it without you."

She wrapped her arms around him, crying on his shoulder.

He rubbed her back in an effort to comfort her and she rested her head against his chest.

"Daphne, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

She raised her head and looked at him. "When we were taking care of Alice... It made me realize for the millionth time how much I want to be a mother someday. But with my bad luck in the dating department-."

His fingers went to her lips to silence her.

"That's over now. I know we haven't even gone out on a date, but I know one thing. I love you and I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you how much; if you'll have me. And Daphne? Whenever the time comes, you'll make a wonderful mother, with beautiful children. I hope they look just like you."

"Oh Niles..." She captured his lips with hers, kissing him again and again. And when the kisses ended, she held him close, wanting the moment to last forever.

"I love you, Niles."

"I love you too, Daphne."

They kissed once more and then stared into each other's eyes. "You know... it's not that late. Would you like to come over for a while?"

Daphne smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'd love to."

They walked hand in hand back to his car, and into what Daphne hoped would be a lifetime of love.

**THE END**


End file.
